| TPS | |
| Company Type: | Société anonyme |
| Industry: | Mass media |
| Founded: | 1996 |
| Defunct: | 2008 |
| Fate: | Acquired by Groupe Canal+ |
| Successor: | CanalSat |
| Location: | Paris, France |
| Products: | Satellite television ADSL television Digital television Television channels |
| Owner: | Eutelsat Arte TF1 Group M6 Group France Télévisions (1996-2002) CLT-UFA France Telecom Suez Environnement (1996-2008) Canal+ (2008) |
Télévision Par Satellite (in French televizjɔ̃ paʁ satɛlit/; TPS) was a French company that offered subscription television packages via satellite.
It was created in 1996 by Eutelsat and Arte, soon joined by the TF1 Group, the M6 Group, France Télévisions, RTL Group, France Telecom and Suez Environnement. France Télévisions left the company in 2002.
TPS offered various channels, including some not owned by TPS:
On 31 August 2006 TPS merged with its competitor CanalSat, owned by the Canal+ Group.[1]
The two distributors merged their packages on 21 March 2007. Essentially, TPS merged into CanalSat which was then branded as Nouveau CanalSat. All the TPS branded movie channels were merged into the Canal+-owned CinéCinéma package, TPS Star and TPS Foot being the only channels still using the TPS brand. Some new channels were launched on both platforms.
In 2011, the merger with TPS was cancelled by the Competition Authority. Canal+ appealed, and the Authority determined that its authorisation would be conditional on a number of injunctions, including "re-establish[ing] sufficient competition in the pay television market".[2]